Frederic, Lord Leighton

1830–1896

In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Rooms

View by Appointment

Biography

Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subject matter in an academic style. His paintings were enormously popular, and expensive, during his lifetime, but fell out of critical favour for many decades in the early 20th century.

Leighton was the bearer of the shortest-lived peerage in history; after only one day his hereditary peerage became extinct upon his death.

This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License. Spotted a problem? Let us know.

Read full Wikipedia entry

Artworks

Left Right

Frederic, Lord Leighton An Athlete Wrestling with a Python

1877

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Frederic, Lord Leighton The Bath of Psyche

exhibited 1890

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Frederic, Lord Leighton And the Sea Gave Up the Dead Which Were in It

exhibited 1892

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Frederic, Lord Leighton Preparing for a Festa, Florence

date not known

View by appointment
Frederic, Lord Leighton Lieder ohne Worte

exhibited 1861

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Frederic, Lord Leighton The Sluggard

1885
Frederic, Lord Leighton Helios and Rhodes

date not known
Frederic, Lord Leighton Samson Carrying the Gate

published 1881

View by appointment

See all 27

Artist as subject

Left Right

Sir Max Beerbohm The Man from Hymettus. Mr Frederick Leighton

1916
Henry Scott Tuke Register of paintings by Henry Scott Tuke

1879–1923
Stanhope Alexander Forbes, recipient: Elizabeth Forbes Letter from Stanhope Forbes to Elizabeth Armstrong

26 December 1887

View by appointment
Anita Bartle, Grant Richards (London, UK) This is my Birthday

1902

View by appointment
Stanhope Alexander Forbes, recipient: Elizabeth Forbes Letter from Stanhope Forbes to Elizabeth Armstrong

date not known

View by appointment
Anita Bartle, Grant Richards (London, UK) This is my Birthday

1902

View by appointment
Stanhope Alexander Forbes, recipient: Elizabeth Forbes Letter from Stanhope Forbes to Elizabeth Armstrong, addressed 11 Elgin Avenue, London

19 May 1887

View by appointment

Features

Left Right

Online Guide

A Queer Walk Through British Art

Discover queer responses to our collection, curated by members of the LGBTQ+ community at Tate and beyond
Art Term

Olympians

The term Olympians was often used to describe certain Victorian artists whose work emphasised the classical in both style and …
Art Term

Wood engraving

A printmaking method distinct from woodcut in that the line is incised into the woodblock, rather than the background being …
Art Term

Aesthetic movement

The aesthetic movement was a late nineteenth century movement that championed pure beauty and ‘art for art’s sake’ emphasising the …
Art Term

New sculpture

New sculpture is a name applied to the sculptures produced by a group of artists working in the second half …
Tate Papers

The Materials Used by British Oil Painters in the Nineteenth Century

Joyce H. Townsend

This paper reviews existing literature on nineteenth-century British artists’ materials. Sources of information, such as colourmen’s archives, artists’ diaries and …